WOMEN’S 1-METER DIVING

Kassidy Cook, Stanford, 338.35

Maria Polyakova, UCLA, 335.75

Naomi Gowlett, USC, 328.15

Stanford’s Kassidy Cook edged out UCLA’s Maria Polyakova by less than 3 points to win a close contest for gold. Not far behind was USC’s Naomi Gowlett, who took 3rd with 328.15 points. Arizona got a huge boost from diving, with Karolyn Loftus (6th), Kaitlyn Costello (7th), and Sally Hackett (8th) all scoring in the final.

Stanford’sKatie Ledecky tore through the water, setting a new NCAA, American, and U.S. Open Record to win gold in 4:25.15. That took over a second off her previous record of 4:26.46 from the Ohio State Invite. Fellow Cardinal freshman Katie Drabot (4:35.69) had a fantastic swim to take silver, as did bronze mealist Cal’s Katie McLaughlin (4:36.04) as both swimmers dropped seconds from their best times.

A tight race for 4th saw Stanford freshman Megan Byrnes and Arizona freshman Hannah Cox battle down the stretch. Byrnes got to the wall in 4:39.14, just ahead of Cox’s 4:39.66.

Stanford’s Ella Eastin kept the streak going for the Cardinal, coming within 3 hundredths of the Meet Record to win back-to-back titles in 1:52.34. Cal’s Kathleen Baker was just a few tenths back, coming in t 1:52.74 for silver. USC freshman Louise Hansson continues to impress, as she picked up bronze in 1:53.72.

Stanford’s Ally Howe and USC’s Kirsten Vose battled down the stretch for 4th place.Vose had the slight edge after breaststroke, but Howe rocketed home to out-touch her with a 1:55.74 to Vose’s 1:55.91.

Stanford has yet to lose a race at this meet, as Simone Manuel came in clutch to win gold in a new Pac-12 Meet Record time of 21.29. Defending champ Farida Osman wound up 2nd in 21.49, just a hundredth ahead of teammate Abbey Weitzeil (21.50).

Notably, Cal freshman Maddie Murphy had a big swim in the B-final, turning in a personal best 21.96.

WOMEN’S 200 FREE RELAY

NCAA ‘A’ cut: 1:28.98

NCAA ‘B’ cut: 1:29.75

Pac-12 Conference Record: Arizona (2009)- 1:26.20

Pac-12 Meet Record: Stanford (2016)- 1:26.77

Stanford- 1:26.44

Cal- 1:26.49

Arizona- 1:27.95

The Stanford 200 free relay squad of Simone Manuel, Lia Neal, Janet Hu, and Ally Howe took down the Pac-12 Meet Record in a fingernail finish against Cal. The Cardinal touched just 5 hundredths ahead of the Bears. Manuel got the Cardinal off to an early lead with her 21.44, while Howe clocked a 21.49 on the anchor leg to hold off a hard-charging Farida Osman (21.21). Notably, Cal’s Kristen Vredeveld split a 21.70 on the B-relay, which made her the team’s 3rd fastest performer overall.

About Lauren Neidigh

Lauren Neidigh is a former NCAA swimmer at the University of Arizona and the University of Florida. While her college swimming career left a bit to be desired, her Snapchat chin selfies and hot takes on Twitter do not disappoint. She is now coaching for Loggerhead Aquatics in her hometown …